John Terry’s court case on racial abuse charges was adjourned yesterday until July 9, leaving the Chelsea captain free to lead his country at Euro 2012.
Lawyers for Terry had earlier entered a not guilty plea on the footballer’s behalf as he prepares to fight charges of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand during a match against QPR last October.
With the English FA having declined to take any action against Terry on the basis that he is innocent until proven guilty, the adjournment means the defender is likely to captain England at Euro 2012.
Pep undecided on Barca future
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola admitted that he has still not decided whether or not to prolong his contract with the European champions beyond the end of the current season.
“I’ll decide about the contract extension and when I do, I’ll tell the president (Sandro Rosell) and (sporting director) Andoni Zubizarreta,” Guardiola told a news conference.
“But I’ve not decided yet. When I know, they’ll know too.”
Guardiola, 41, has been coach of Barcelona since 2008, during which time he has led the Catalan club to 13 major honours, including three La Liga titles and two Champions League crowns.
Pav for Lokomotiv
Lokomotiv Moscow have agreed terms with Tottenham to sign Russian striker Roman Pavlyuchenko.
“We have reached an agreement on Pav’s transfer,” Lokomotiv president Olga Smorodskaya said.
“He is a Lokomotiv player.”
Reports said that Lokomotiv will pay Tottenham £11 million for the services of the 30-year-old striker, who was expected to arrive in Moscow late yesterday to undergo a medical before signing the contract.
Nainggolan stays put... for now
Cagliari have held on to highly-rated midfielder Radja Nainggolan who was widely tipped to join Juve during the January transfer window.
Massimo Cellino, the Cagliari president, said Nainggolan never expressed a desire to leave the Sardinian outfit but revealed that he has a verbal agreement with Beppe Marotta, Juve’s general manager, over the Belgian international’s future transfer.
“Nainggolan has never expressed a desire to leave,” Francesco Marroccu, Cagliari’s general manager, told Tutto-Cagliari.net.
“The president has a pact of honour with Marotta and Juventus, but there is no final agreement, nothing set for definite before June so many things can change.”
Blame me for defeat – Mancini
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini admitted he was to blame for the costly defeat that provided Manchester United with renewed hope in the title race.
Mancini insisted he got it all wrong as Darron Gibson’s first Premier League goal since March 2010 enabled United to move level on points with City as they crashed to a 1-0 loss at Everton.
“We didn’t prepare well and we had a problem. I can’t make the same mistake next time,” Mancini said.
“I’m disappointed with my mistake and we didn’t prepare well at training. We are still at the top and there are 15 games to go and it’s important that we beat Fulham on Saturday.”
Honda Lazio deal off – reports
Japan midfielder Keisuke Honda will stay at CSKA Moscow after talks with Lazio over his transfer collapsed.
The Russian outfit were asking €16 million from Lazio, but Lazio’s offer fell short as the winter transfer window closed on Tuesday, reports said.
CSKA had also wanted the money in a lump sum but Lazio offered to pay it in several installments.
Last week, reports had said the two clubs agreed to a €14-million fee for the 2011 Asian Cup’s most valuable player.
Since he moved to Moscow from Dutch club Venlo at the start of 2010, Honda has been linked with top clubs in Europe such as Arsenal, Liverpool, Milan and Paris SG.
Pizarro joins City
Manchester City have signed Chilean midfielder David Pizarro on loan from Roma.
The 32-year-old had been unsettled this season under Luis Enrique in the Italian capital.
This week, Enrique told reporters that he was willing to let Pizarro go.
“There was nothing missing in our relationship, my job involves making decisions and this is one of those,” Enrique said.
Pizarro’s agent Beppe Bozzo then revealed that Pizarro’s work permit obstacles had been overcome as City had asked for an exemption, given that the experienced midfielder has not played for Chile since 2005.